Starting to Live
by slythernize
Summary: Avery's life is turned around when a certain super hero duo shows up at the orphanage she resides at. Tables are turned, and Avery begins to realize that she never actually lived before. Warren/OC UNDER CONSTRUCTION
1. Chapter 1

Hellooooo so this is not my first fanfic, I tried but failed one for an anime, and it didn't work out too well. But the thing is, I CAN'T GET THIS STORY OUT OF MY HEAD! NOT TO MENTION SKY HIGH IS MY SECOND FAVORITE DISNEY MOVIE EVARRR. The Incredibles is #1, which is why our lovely protagonist is going to acquire Violet Parr's powers and nothing more. By the Way, I'm a major procrastinator so don't be surprised if I update chapters very slowly

Disclaimer: If I owned either Sky High or The Incredibles, there would be sequels out. I do own Avery though.

**CHAPTER NUMERO UNO**

There was almost nothing "normal" about Avery Greene.

Her appearance was most definitely not normal; her hair was the whitest white that it almost hurt to look at it, her eyes were an appalling shade of blood red, and her skin rivaled the shade of Edward Cullen's. Yes, she was albino. Putting that aside, her facial and bodily features may have once deemed her to be considered "pretty". Yes, skinny-as-a-stick as she was, "pretty".

Some people view the world in rose-colored shades. Avery saw the world in black and white, nothing was completely black or white.

Avery had the uncanny ability to hide all emotion or feelings except for one: anger. It seemed that the lack of other emotions were made up in her temper. The smallest of teases could set her off.

Although she really did believe that, the looks that some people gave her made her uncomfortable, so she stayed invisible most of the time. Yes, invisible. As if albinism wasn't enough. When she was angry (which was most of the time) her translucent-violet-force-field-sphere would pop out. So far, Avery hadn't tested how far the sphere could go.

Now onto her family, or lack of one. Her parent's had been world-renowned super heroes: Zero Gravity (aka Lance Greene) and The Magician (aka Julia Stronghold). Avery knew her Uncle Steve and Aunt Josie very well, but they didn't know her. Right after she'd been born, Baron Battle had incinerated New York Downtown Republic's Hospital, doctors, patients, nurses, and all.

Well, except a curious red-eyed baby who managed to stay alive because of her purple force fields.

Only Avery and a few doctors knew her true parentage because she demanded a DNA test from the orphanage when she was eleven years old. She was sick of questioning her true parentage and wondered where her perplexing powers came from. Her parents, she assumed, kept the pregnancy a secret because many villains could use the super-powered baby to their advantage.

It was a typical morning at New York Downtown Orphanage. Community service, breakfast, more service, and then back to the orphanage for some free time. Avery, age 15, kept to herself like on a normal day, but suddenly there was a furious knocking on the creaky wooden door of her "room".

She slowly crept to her door and cracked it open just a sliver.

Almost immediately Avery was wrapped in two colorful sets of arms. Not to mention one was extremely and painfully tight.


	2. Chapter 2

How is it possible to get writer's block this early into a story? The ideas are bursting in my head but I can't seem to get them into words! ARGH *pulls hair*

Disclaimer: I do not own Sky High

**CHAPITRE DEUX**

In the matter of hours, Avery Greene had a new home and a new family. It seemed to her that she had been reincarnated to a second life because her previous one was so different.

In a dramatic turn of events, her cousins the Strongholds somehow had full custody of her and suddenly she was to be relocated to Maxville, California.

After watching the Stronghold family from a distance for so long, it was an odd reality to suddenly see them up close. Josie Stronghold, for one, had the same birthmark on her wrist as Avery had. They had the same ski-slope nose and full lips. Steve Stronghold was just what the public made him out to be, though. He was arrogant but well-meaning with a handsome face. They were also a little startled at Avery's appearance, but this was normal for Avery. She was happy that they quickly got over it.

She sat in front of them at a local Starbucks (they changed out of their eye-catching costumes) right around the corner of the orphanage.

"We've been searching for you for so long, Avery," said Josie with tears in the corners of her eyes. "We knew Lance and Julia had a child, but all the records were destroyed in that horrible fire." Steve patted his wife's shoulder comfortingly and proceeded to tell the story of how he had to epically stop Baron Battle from destroying all of New York City but didn't have enough time to find Avery, for which he apologized repeatedly.

"You don't need to apologize, Mr. Stronghold. The safety of the city was more important at the time."

"Oh, please, call me Steve. Or, actually Dad, because you are going to be legally adopted into the family."

"Steve is fine, sir. And addressing the adoption, would you mind if I kept the surname Greene? It's all I have left of my father."

"O-of course," stammered Steve. He was shocked that a kid aged only fifteen was so mature and formal.

"Oh, honey, we have to be home by 6 0'clock for that meeting, remember? It'll take some time to get Avery moved in, so we should head home soon." Said Josie checking the time on her watch. "Avery, honey, do you have any sort of flying powers? We only got here by flying and weren't expecting to find you here, so I don't really know how to get us home."

"I can turn invisible and use force fields, but no flying."

Josie smiled nostalgically. "So you inherited Julia's powers, I see. Steve! How about you catch a plane and take Avery's things home with you while she and I fly home with a little aunt-niece bonding time?"

"No, Aunt Josie, it's fine -"

"We insist."

**LALALA-BREAK-IN-PLOT-LINE-LALALA**

***1****ST**** PERSON AVERY'S POV***

The flight home was uncomfortable, but by the time Josie and I descended upon the sunny city of Maxville, I knew a lot more about her cousins than before.

"Ya know Avery, most teenage girls would be scared silly of flying at 200mph 10,000 feet in the air," said Josie as they landed in front of a huge white suburban house.

"I guess I'm not most girls," I laughed. Josie just grinned and led the way down the brick path to the house.

Josie rang the bell to the huge house. A cluttering of footsteps followed and I inwardly winced at the sound of someone tripping.

The door swung open to reveal Will Stronghold, who I already knew very well because of the tales Josie told her. What she didn't say was that Will dressed like Captain America, minus the spandex and cape. Beside him stood a redheaded girl with bright green eyes and an obvious taste for green clothing. They both stared at me curiously.

"We found her, Will! Can you believe it? All those years of searching! Oh, hello Layla I didn't know you were going to be here," said Josie. I wondered if my existence was normally the talk of the family.

An hour later introductions were traded and surprisingly I found myself to be entirely comfortable in their presence. We were sitting on the living room couch while listening to Will and Layla discuss Sky High, a super-school that they were going to attend as freshmen in one month. Despite their obvious feelings of excitement, I couldn't help but notice nervousness in Will whenever Layla mentioned the Hero and Hero Support tracks.

"Sooo… Will, Layla, what are your powers?" I asked tentatively.

"I have the ability to control plants and Will-" she leaned in "-doesn't have any powers, yet. He just doesn't want Mr. and Mrs. Stronghold to know because, well. You know," explained Layla. I nodded in sympathy.

"Layla!" whispered Will.

"What? You were going to have to tell her eventually."

"Yeah, I guess so… Oh I almost forgot to ask! What are your powers Avery?" asked Will. I smirked at his attempt to change the topic.

"I have the power of invisibility and force fields," I said quietly.

"That's so cool! You got that from Aunt Julia, right?"

Layla elbowed him in the ribs.

I just blinked and put on my usual deadpanned expression to fight the sadness. It seemed uniting with my aunt's family made me long for the parents I never had.


	3. Chapter 3

This chapter's really long, but it was fun to write :P two chappies in a day! Whoo

Disclaimer: if you want to read the actual disclaimer, go to either chapter 1 or 2

**CAPITE TERTIO (3)**

The much dreaded first day of Sky High was only in four days according to Will's calendar. The past month had been….. interesting, to say the least. My normal schedule when I lived in New York blended in with my new one with the Stronghold family- er, my family. Wake up at 5, go for a jog, do many reps of sit ups and push ups, and practice my hand-to-hand combat (which I had taken up when I was 7 in New York), then go home to eat breakfast.

This particular morning I woke up way too late so I just decided to listen to music on my new mp3 with my new headphones. Despite my refusal, the Strongholds showered me with gifts. The only thing I absolutely forbid them to do was replace my violin. It was dark mahogany colored and worn down, but it was my most prized possession. It was an old gift of mine given to me by my music teacher back in New York.

I sat on my bed listening to Pachelbel's Canon in D (I have a VERY diverse taste in music) while playing it on my violin. The door creaked open and I stopped playing abruptly. Will stood in the doorframe in checkered sweats and a white wife-beater.

"Morning. Sorry if I woke you up, Will," I yawned and set down my violin.

"No, it's fine. How long have you been playing violin? You're amazing!" he exclaimed. I smiled my thanks.

"Since I was 6. But really, Will, why are you here?" I didn't say it in a mean way. Both of us knew that Will hated being woken up before 10 0'clock. It was only 8.

He sighed and shook his head with a grin on his face. "It's only been a month and you know me as well as Layla does. Anyways, last night while you were asleep I found this article online."

He handed me a few papers. It was a newspaper story that centered on the fact that The Magician and Zero Gravity died in a hospital fire caused by Baron Battle. It was known that they were expecting a baby, and the article stated that the baby's bones were not found. Then the story started going downhill with ridiculous hypotheses of the child (me) growing up with revenge on Baron Battle and blah blah blah. Seriously, the media these days makes me wanna bang my head against the walls.

"It looks like the public turned you into a mystery case. Ave, you're famous!" he grinned sleepily.

"I've… actually known this for a long time. Will, can you promise me something? Please don't mention it at school," I pleaded.

"Why? Everyone would know you!"

"That's exactly why. I don't appreciate attention."

"Oh. Well, people are going to know eventually. You're going to have to show your powers for Power Placement. There was only one hero who had invisibility and force-fields."

"I kind of have the same game plan as Layla for Power Placement," I said nervously while fiddling with the strings on my violin.

Will sighed. "Why would you hide your power and choose to be a sidekick? You would definitely make Hero."

"It's more complicated than that, Will."

**LALALA-BREAK-IN-PLOT-LINE-LALALA**

The day had finally come. I was nervous and excited at the same time, but of course, I didn't show it. I got up extra early to jog more, do more reps, and practice combat more. I stumbled into my bathroom sweating bullets. I quickly took a shower and faced the dilemma of choosing what to wear. Along with headphones and an mp3, Josie gave me a bunch of clothes she and Layla picked out. I finally decided on a green blouse (courtesy of Layla), black skinny jeans with a few rips, and my own brown worn-out combat boots. I didn't do anything with my hair, it was its normal white-straight-down-to-my-waist self. Layla recommended putting mascara and eyeliner on to distract from my blood-red eyes, but it just emphasized them even more.

I glanced at the clock. I didn't have time to remove the makeup so I just grabbed my navy over-the-shoulder bag and walked down the stairs.

"Hey, kiddo! You're looking great this morning, did you do something different with your eyes?" greeted Steve.

"Yeah, Layla's idea. Is Will up yet?" I asked. I plopped down onto a chair and started nibbling the waffle Josie handed me.

"No… Hey! It's his first day of school, where is he?" Steve said and ascended up the staircase.

Josie turned to me and sat down. "So, excited for your first day at Sky High?"

"Yeah, I'm a little nervous too.

"You'll be fine. Tell me if you see any cute boys," said Josie with a wink.

My face heated up and I opened my mouth to protest only to be interrupted by the appearance of Layla.

"Good morning Mrs. Stronghold. I noticed you had some recyclables in the trash and took the liberty of moving them for you," greeted Layla cheerily. Even at the crack of dawn (figuratively) Layla was still an environmentalist.

"Thank you, Layla. You hungry? I've got plenty of eggs, bacon,"

"No thanks. You know how my mom can communicate with animals? Apparently they don't like being eaten," said Layla with wide eyes. "Hey Ave."

"'Morning," I muttered tiredly.

"I can't believe you guys are starting high school. It seems like only yesterday it was my first day of sky high," sighed Josie.

"Mo-om! Hey Layla, Ave," said Will as he and Steve walked into the kitchen.

Suddenly a shrill ringing sound came from Steve's pocket. He reached into it and pulled out a small red phone. After a few quick exchanges Steve concluded that there was trouble-"big trouble"-downtown.

"Oh, shoot. I really wanted to see you guys out to the bus! I remember on the first day of preschool Will wouldn't let go of my leg-"

"Mom!" whined Will. Layla and I exchanged amused smirks. Josie kissed Will on the cheek and left with Steve.

We proceeded to watch the rundown of the "big trouble" downtown. It ended with another victory for the Commander and Jetstream, as usual.

"They are good."

**LALALA-BREAK-IN-PLOT-LINE-LALALA**

I walked onto the seemingly normal yellow school bus. Josie already informed me that the school was hundreds of feet in the air and the buses that took them there would fly them there. After inspecting the bus, though, it didn't seem to be any different than an ordinary bus. Will seemed to notice this as well, so he stopped right in front of the bus driver with Layla and I behind him.

"Is this the bus to Sky High?" he asked a bit too loudly.

"Shhhh!" he yanked the door shut."Do you want every super villain in the neighborhood to know we're here?" whispered the bus driver furiously.

"S-sorry."

The bus driver shot his hand out in front of Will.

"What's your name, freshman?" he asked suspiciously.

"..Um, Will Stronghold."

There came an audible gulp from the bus driver.

"The son of the Commander and Jetstream?" he asked shakily. Oh god, another fan. Living with the two most famous heroes in the world for the past month had taught me a few things about raving fanatics.

Will nodded.

The bus driver stood up and introduced Will to the whole dang bus(Really?) and told Will he was Ron Wilson; Bus Driver.

I, personally, couldn't stand the attention so I shoved past Will and sat down in a three-seater next to some kid who was studying the student handbook diligently. Moments later I was joined by Layla and Will sat down across the aisle from me next to a kid I could easily compare to a highlighter.

"Yo, Will! Ay, how you doin' man?" said the human highlighter.

"Uh, good. Hey, did I introduce you to Avery? She's my c-" I glared at him heatedly "adopted sister. Ave, this is Zach," said Will nervously.

"Pleasure, highlighter," I stuck out my hand and he shook it firmly.

"You can call me Zach Attack," said Zack. I rolled my eyes. "And I think I recognize a fellow albino when I see 'em." I shrugged and leaned back into my seat.

"Avery, Will told me about your parents," said Layla directing her attention to me.

"What! That little p-"

"No, no, it's my fault! I made him tell me. And I just wanted to say it's cool how someone else wants to boycott the whole Power Placement thing," Layla reassured with a bright smile.

Suddenly full-body seat belts appeared from seemingly nowhere, Ron drove us off a freaking bridge, and we were airborne. Will, Layla and everybody else on the bus but me started screaming their heads off. I just sat there and looked out the window. Living on the (almost) streets of New York taught me not to fear or panic much. I heard something pop out from under the bus and we stopped falling. I let out the breath I didn't know I kept in until now. So much for not panicking.

Ron grumbled something about freshmen at the same time I caught my first glimpse of Sky High. It looked like a floating museum. Ron said something about an anti-gravitational system as we stumbled onto the front of the floating land mass.

I stepped down from the bus as some kids literally began kissing the "ground". Sissies.

As the whole group walked to the front doors, immediately there was something circling us quickly and it suddenly came to a stop in front of us. It (or he, if you will) was a short stocky guy with a maniacal grin on his face.

"Hey! Freshmen! Your attention, please," yelled the chubby guy.

A tall lanky guy in stripes stretched (when I say stretched, I literally mean stretched) up next to him.

"I'm Lash," said stripes. "And this is Speed." He patted chubby's shoulder. Ironic much? "And as representatives of the Sky High welcoming committee, we'd be happy to collect that fifteen dollar new-student fee," Lash said as he extended his arm to stop right in front of a nerdy-looking orange-wearing kid's face.

"There was nothing about a new student fee in the handbook," he said confusedly. Did everybody but me read the handbook? A girl dressed in pink stepped up in front of Lash and Speed.

"Alright guys, very funny. I'll take it from here," said our pink-clad saviour. She introduced herself as Gwen Grayson, the student body president. She had straight brown hair and large doe eyes. She was so pretty and pink my eyes hurt. I zoned out as soon as she started talking about rules and looked around the campus. People everywhere were showing off their powers and checking out the freshmen (us), so I directed my attention to our own crowd. I noticed Layla staring at Will, who was staring wide-eyed at Gwen. Of course. Stupid hormonal teenage boys.

"If you follow those few simple rules, I promise you will not fall off the edge of the school," assured Gwen with a wide smile.

We followed her inside and had a quick orientation with Principal Powers; a middle-aged woman who turned into a comet. She quickly explained Power Placement ("sounds fascist" said Layla matter-of-factly) and flew away in a blazing ball of white.

Then we walked into the gym. It had large stone columns and stone bleachers. It reminded me of the Roman Colloseum, where gladiators fought to the death. Hm, not much different from high school. A platform rose out of the middle of the gym and with it came a teacher with a blue hat, gym shorts, and a gym jacket. His clipboard was clutched firmly at his side.

"All right, listen up," he commanded. "My name is Coach Boomer. You may know me as Sonic Boom, you may not. Here's how Power Placement's gonna work. You will step up here and show me your power. Yes, you will do so in front of the entire class. I will then determine where you will be assigned; Hero, or Sidekick." He then rambled on about "whiner babies" and showed off his power to us by yelling at us with his super-sonic voice. I already knew he was going to be a dickhead.

Boomer called up a kid named Larry who looked geeky, but turned out to be a two ton rock-man-thing and made Hero. He slowly started picking off kids one by one until it was clear I was the next victim. Oh, god. This was the moment of truth. When I tended to be nervous or scared, my face didn't show it, but my power did. I started flickering between invisible and visible, something that had gotten me into trouble frequently in New York when I was attending school.

"Avery… Greene," he said suspiciously. Dammit! I should have known the teachers would know my last name.

I stepped up to the podium with my fists clenched tightly. Boomer narrowed his eyes at me.

"Car!" he yelled. The crowd gasped.

"Avery!" yelled Will.

By instinct, I felt myself go invisible and I threw my hands up using my force field to block the car. It crashed into the field and then settled on it.

I made myself go visible. "What the hell was that for?! For all you knew, I could have had no powers at all!" I yelled angrily. I tilted my force field and pushed out, throwing the car to the other side of the gym.

Whispering broke out of the freshmen.

Boomer just ignored me.

"Hero."


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks to everyone who followed, especially **wierdunusualchick** for being the first one! Enjoy and R&R!

Disclaimer: I do not own Sky High

**QUARTO CAPITOLO**

Immediately following my placement as hero (which I was furious about) I was called to the office on the loudspeaker.

"Avery Greene, report to the main office please. Avery Greene, report to the main office please."

I stomped down the metal stairs of that goddamned platform and walked out of the gym. As I did, stares burned into my back. I wandered the spacious halls of Sky High until I came to a door marked as the main office.

I walked into the room and pushed past the all-too-eager secretary and situated myself in the chair in front of Principal Powers and her desk. She leaned forward, elbows resting on a stack of papers, fingers interlaced.

"Yes?" I growled.

"Miss Greene. Who are your parents?" she asked in a calm voice.

"S-Steve and Josie Stronghold," I muttered.

"That's what it says in your file. But I have reason to think your parents were Lance Green and Julia Stronghold. Your surname and powers give it away, dear."

"Damn," I said under my breath. "Were you watching Power Placement?"

"Yes, I was. Boomer certainly knows about your parentage. Don't worry, I can tell you're trying to keep this a secret, but for what reason, I'm unsure of. I'll tell him and the rest of the teachers to not advertise it, but this isn't a free ticket to hide your powers. Most students here don't know that The Magician and Zero Gravity had a child, so you don't have to worry about your peers. But I called you here to warn you this doesn't excuse you from any schoolwork."

"Of course. Thank you," I said quickly before taking off into the hallway. I found my way back to the gym easily. I found the crowd right where I had left it, but here Coach Boomer was pointing menacingly to Will.

**LALALA-BREAK-IN-PLOT-LINE-LALALA**

I was pretty dead beat from holding the car on my force field. It wasn't the heaviest thing I ever held, but it was enough to make me tired and starving. I didn't wait for the other freshmen to be let out and walked to the cafeteria by myself. It was empty save a few lunch staff, so I made myself invisible and sat down at the table nearest to the window. I took out my turkey sandwich I made this morning and ate it while staring at the clouds outside.

In your mind right now, you might be picturing a turkey sandwich floating in midair in front of some floating clothes, but I forgot to mention another thing about my power. I could make anything invisible as long as I was touching it. I was touching the sandwich, my clothes, and my bag, so they were all invisible right now.

I heard some loud talking and realized that people were being let out of class. I just stayed invisible and prayed no one would sit at this table. I didn't really want to sit with Will and Layla because I knew they were going to be sitting with their friends from junior high, and I was in no mood for introductions.

People were piling into the cafeteria quickly as I spotted Will and Layla among the crowd. They were walking with Zack the highlighter, orange kid, and a girl that wore a lot of purple. To my surprise, they all sat down right behind me.

"Do you think Avery's at the office because of 'it'?" I heard Will whisper to Layla, to which she just shrugged in confusion.

I almost jumped in fright when I heard a rustle in front of me.

Shit.

A guy who looked like he could be part of a motorcycle gang sat down right in front of me and pulled out a book. He had dark hair with red streaks, a leather jacket, and some seriously ripped jeans on. I was too preoccupied with my problems to notice he wasn't half bad-looking. My messenger bag slid down my shoulder a bit, causing it to make a small rustling sound against my blouse.

Motorcycle dude's eyes snapped right at me, and I could tell he wasn't just looking through me.

"Am I crazy or is that guy really looking at me?" I heard Will ask his table. Then I heard Zach and Layla explain to him that he was Warren Peace, son of a SUPERVILLAIN and a HERO.

A lightbulb flashed on in my mind. There was only one kid in my generation who had one supervillain and one hero parent. And that was Warren Peace, son of Baron Battle. The same Baron Battle that killed my parents.

Considering this I didn't see this guy pick on any kids or burst into flame yet, I concluded that he wasn't anything like his father. Just to be safe, I finished my sandwich, slid off the bench silently and rushed to the cafeteria doors. I made myself visible and walked to Will's table. Warren's eyes remained on me the whole time.

"Hey, Ave!" said Will as I sat down next to him. "Guys, this is my adoptive sister Avery. Avery, this is Magenta" he pointed to the girl in purple, "and this is Ethan," he pointed to the nerdy orange kid.

"Hey," said Magenta nonchalantly. I nodded.

"I noticed," started Ethan. "That you have the same powers as the Magician and the same last name of Zero Gravity's identity. You're Mystery Magician, aren't you?" asked Ethan excitedly.

"Mystery Magician? That's what they're calling you now Ave?" laughed Will.

"Will!" I glared at him.

"Oh, come on. The cat's outta the bag, Ave. I told you that you weren't going to be able to hide it long," said Layla as Magenta, Ethan, and Zach gave me awestruck looks.

Great, just great.

**LALALA-BREAK-IN-PLOT-LINE-LALALA**

The rest of the day was just me watching the other freshmen go through Power Placement, including Will. I don't want to explain what happened in detail because it can be explained in one word: painful. He got into Sidekick class. I wonder how he's gonna break it to Steve…

The first thing I noticed when I got home with Will was the gigantic robot eye Steve kept as a souvenir from this morning's battle. I rolled my eyes. I don't understand how he is blood-related to me.

"Oh, there they are!"

"Hey!"

"Kids of the hour!"

"How'd it go?"

"Um, Dad, we need to talk," said Will nervously as he bit his lip.

"You mean a little hero to hero talk? I think I know just the place. Come on," said Steve. I gave Will a pat on the shoulder for reassurance.

"Sanctum, I'm guessing?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's a tradition in the family. I'll take you there after Steve and Will are done, honey," said Josie. "You're flickering, dear. Is something wrong?" she led the way to the living room and sat down on the couch.

I sat down next to her. I looked down and confirmed that I was, in fact, flickering. I controlled myself and fought to stay visible.

"No, it's nothing. I'm just nervous for my first day of being a hero tomorrow, that's all," I fake smiled and pretended to fidget.

"Oh honey, don't worry. You'll be fine," reassured Josie with a warm smile. Guilt pierced me. Damn you, Will, making me lie to Josie! "I know just the thing to cheer you up. The guys are probably done with their talk, so let's go join them for some pool, shall we?"

I spent the rest of the night in the sanctum (Josie registered my biometrics for the hand-scanner this morning) beating the rest of them at pool.

Will left after the third round and I quickly followed him. I turned invisible as I followed him into his room and he pulled open his window. He climbed out and left the window open. Confused, I crept out silently and sat behind him on the roof.

Will sighed and stared at the stars. A large tree grew at an impossible tree and carried Layla onto the roof. They talked for a bit (mostly Layla giving Will a pep talk on being a Sidekick) and then just sat there and stared at the stars.

I turned visible. "So I when are you going to tell Steve you're a sidekick?" I asked, breaking the silence. Will and Layla jumped and turned around to look at me.

"How long have you been sitting there? And I'll tell him tomorrow, I promise," said Will defensively.

I just smirked and continued to stargaze with them.


	5. Chapter 5

"Avery, wake up! It's the first actual day of school, you don't want to be late! Come to think of it, you're usually up earlier than the rest of us…"

"G'way 'fore I smash yer face in," I muttered groggily and pulled my blankets over my head.

Will pushed the curtains to the window above my head to the side.

"The light! it BUURRNSS!" I wailed and cocooned myself into my thick comforter. I was felt like a caterpilar going through metamorphosis. Will rolled his eyes.

"I was just reminding you because we have to be at the bus stop in," Will checked his watch. "Thirty minutes."

My eyes snapped open and I sat up quickly. I groaned and crawled out of my bed and started doing push-ups rapidly in my pajamas.

"What're you doing?" asked Will, bewildered.

"Reps. I usually get up at 6 to do them but I'll manage. Sometimes I borrow your weight set. Now get out before I really do break your face."

Will held up his hands in surrender and left the room.

"And seriously, unless you're trying to be Captain America, lose the patriotic look!" I yelled. Did I ever mention I was extremely cranky in the morning?

I practically fell asleep in the shower because it was so warm. After I got out of the shower I once again tackled the problem of what to wear. Today I picked out a red tank top that matched my eyes, dark wash jean shorts with ripped tights underneath and studded combat boots. I have way too many pairs of combat boots that I care to admit.

Will and Layla were already downstairs eating breakfast. I grabbed a bagel and retorted, "Brush, your hair, people know I'm related to you, you know." His straight brown hair was sticking up in all the wrong places.

"She's upset about making Hero," said Will as he rolled his eyes. Layla gave me a look of sympathy. One of the reasons I didn't want to be a hero was that I didn't know anyone in the hero class (Layla and Will were Sidekicks).

"Where are Steve and Josie?"

"Off saving the world," replied Will while munching on his toast.

"Figures. Hey, do you have any sunglasses I could borrow? I really don't like freaking people out with my eyes."

"Uh, sure," Will went into one of the kitchen cabinets and found some reflective sunglasses that looked like they were from the 80's. I slipped them onto my eyes and finished my bagel. I rushed upstairs into Will's room and stepped in front of the full length mirror. I looked like I could join Warren Peace's motorcycle gang.

The bus ride to school was fairly normal. Well, as normal as you can get with riding on a flying school bus. It was less exciting this time because everyone knew what was going to happen.

We reached "land" and I headed to the office with the gang. We got our schedules, and I saw that my first period I had Mad Science ll. All of my classes were all sophomore level because I had a special tutor in New York once the orphanage realized I had "special needs".

Magenta looked over my shoulder and glanced at my schedule. She was a Sidekick and had the power of shape-shifting into a guinea pig. "Looks like everyone has gym last period," she announced.

We all traded schedules for a bit except for me, being the only hero.

"'Kay guys, I gotta run. Don't want to be late for Mad Science." I grimaced. The group echoed their goodbyes as I walked to my new locker. It opened with a clang but before I could deposit any of my books in, I felt a cold hand pinch my thigh. I glanced down in cold fury to see a retreating sleeve of stripes. My head snapped around till I found them. Lash and Speed laughing hysterically at me. I ripped off my sunglasses and gave them a cold glare. If looks could kill, Lash and Speed would be in hell by now. Their smiles faltered and changed into smirks. Apparently that meant something bad was gonna happen and all the kids in the hallway took off.

"Well now, little feisty, are we freshman?" Lash called from the other end of the empty hallway.

I flushed beet red, spat "Bastard!", and turned invisible.

I saw Speed making his way toward my general direction so I acted quickly and put up a force field in front of him, which he crashed into.

I didn't wait to see the aftermath so I slipped my glasses back on, grabbed my stuff, and hurried to Mad Science.

I stepped through the doorframe and saw a guy who had a HUGE head and a lab coat on lecturing a class about tardiness (ironic much?). I took a step back, tuned visible, and stepped right back in.

"Nice of you to join us, Miss Greene. Ah, yes. You're the freshman they told me about. The only lab partner we have left is Mr. Peace, you can join him," said Mr. Melon Head.

I shifted my gaze upwards and rested it on Warren Peace.

Darn my luck.

I speed walked to the back of the room and plopped down next to Warren. I could feel him watching me and I tried my darndest to avoid meeting his eyes. There was an uncomfortable heat emnating from him that I tried to ignore.

Mr. Melon Head introduced himself as Mr. Medulla and told us we were having a pretest on our knowledge of heat rays. He gave us the parts and told us to start working on it with our partners.

"I'll say this only once. No one sits at my table but me," growled Warren.

I sighed. "Busted. And I didn't know it was your table, I was just hiding from my friends."

Warren just grunted and proceeded to fiddle with the parts. My eyebrows scrunched together and I ripped the parts out of his large hands. In a few seconds, I had constructed a sleek and shiny heat ray.

"Aren't you a freshman?" he asked.

"Yeah," I raised an eyebrow. "And?" I turned and shot him with the heat ray, and a satisfying sizzle was heard from his hand where I shot him. He shot me an intense glare.

Medulla passed by. "Miss Greene and Mr. Peace, excellent demonstration, but I am the only one here with the authority to test on students."

I just smirked.

**LALALA-BREAK-IN-PLOT-LINE-LALALA**

I blame it all on my luck that I had every single class with Warren Peace. It was even unluckier that I had to sit next to him in every class. It seemed like Warren was pretty smart, so me being the freshman, I was paired with him so I could learn from him. I think the only thing I'm gonna learn all year from him is how to make my glare send people running when I use it. Seems to work for him.

After school Zach, Magenta, Ethan, and Layla all came over for a study session. I sat by awkwardly and did my Hero History homework.

They were right in the middle of a question when Steve- ahem, the Commander came in, spandex and all.

"So if you kids are all in here, who's out there, saving the world?" he asked dramatically. I saw Ethan and Zach trade excited looks.

"Dad… Why are you home so early?" Will said with a hint of panic in his voice.

"After I stopped the Super Dome from collapsing I was watching the game and I got to thinking 'Hey! It's been awhile since Will and I tossed the old pigskin around.' So I thought I'd hustle back home but I see you Layla and Avery have already made some new friends.'" He gave Zach, Magenta and Ethan a once-over. I couldn't really tell what he was thinking.

"It's an honour to meet you, sir," said Ethan in awe.

"What's your name, what's your power?" Damn, straight to it.

"I'm Ethan. I melt."

"Okay." Now I could tell he was confused.

Zach stood up. "Zach, I glow."

"I see." It was in the same tone as before.

"Magenta, I shape-shift."

"Shape shift!" Now he was impressed.

"Into a guinea pig."

"… Great…great…great…Great! Really great. Well! I make a mean tuna fish salad sandwich, anybody want one?" he said in an attempt to change the subject. We all declined and he retreated into the kitchen.

Layla and I looked at Will for a moment, who got up and followed Steve into the kitchen. I let myself become invisible and stood up to follow him, but I felt Layla grab my hand to stop me.

"We should let him deal with it on his own," she whispered. I regained visibility. I sighed dejectedly and nodded.

We waited in silence for a few minutes until-

"WASHED OUT?!" came the angry roar of the Commander. I winced as I heard sounds of things breaking. Everyone turned their attention to the kitchen.

Minutes later Will rejoined us. All our eyes were on him.

"O-kay, so, what's next?" he asked, as if nothing happened. We just kept staring until Layla motioned towards us to keep studying. We flipped our books open.

Layla gave him a smile and returned to her books.

I was secretly proud, too.


	6. Chapter 6

I know I was cursing my luck a few days ago, but right now I feel like the luckiest person in the world because after that little run-in on the second day of school, they haven't called me to play them in Save the Citizen yet. "They" being Lash and Speed.

Seriously, if I keep thinking about this, I'm gonna have to see a shrink for anxiety issues. While I'm glad that they haven't picked me yet, it feels like every so often out of the corner of my red eye I see them watching me silently. They're sophomores and have almost every freaking class with me. It gives me some serious creeps.

Will and the gang tell me they're progressing well in Sidekick class and have been learning how to speed change and come up with catch phrases. He seems to be getting used to Sidekick class, maybe even enjoying it.

The same couldn't be said for me.

Warren and I barely talked, and if we did, it was only about classwork or a sarcastic comment. At first, the silences were awkward and tense. Then, it just became a given, and I actually seemed to enjoy his presence.

But even saying this, Warren Peace remains a mystery to me.

This whole thing was in the span of three days before the day Will told Steve he was a Sidekick.

After we all finished studying, the events proved to be very anti-climatic.

Magenta, Zach, Ethan, and Layla all went home, leaving Will and I with a very awkward situation.

We just sat there for a few minutes while Steve sulked in the kitchen. I couldn't stand the atmosphere anymore so I got up and announced that I would be going to bed. I patted Will's head and went upstairs. I quickly got ready for bed and climbed in between my sheets and stared at the ceiling till I fell asleep.

**LALALA-BREAK-IN-PLOT-LINE-LALALA**

Usually on Friday mornings I wake up feeling like I'm at the top of the world. But this Friday morning I woke up screaming my head off. Panting heavily, I sat up and put my hand to my face. It felt like it was burning.

Oh, god. I had the Dream. I have the Dream every once in a while. I always forget what happens in it except for the fire. I only ever remember the picture of a ten-foot high wall of flames from the Dream.

I have a pretty good guess of what it was, though. It was probably when my parents died in the fire when I was born. How I even remembered that when I was a baby, I don't know. Usually when I get the Dream, something bad happens the day after.

So that's why I pushed myself extra hard today while I was working out, it was just me coping with the anxiety.

**LALALA-BREAK-IN-PLOT-LINE-LALALA**

The moment I stepped off the bus the twin terrors struck. The striped arm of Lash crept around me and snatched the hat off Ron Wilson's head. I made a wild grab at Lash's arm, but missed because my arm was so sore from this morning. Ron jumped out of his seat and ran to the other side of the bus, where Speed was running around, taunting him with his hat on.

Lash yelled some jeers at him as Speed ran around. Will and I followed Ron to his side.

"Come on, if you don't respect me at least respect the hat!" cried Ron, squinting at Speed.

"Guys, come on. Give Ron his hat back," said Will in attempt to reason with them. I lifted my arm and threw up a force field which Speed crashed into. He stood up quickly and sped over to Lash's side, seething at me. Lash took the hat out of Speed's grasp.

"Aight, you heard the Sidekick. Give him his hat back," mocked Lash. He held out the hat and threw it to the muddy ground. It landed with a splash. The goons walked away laughing evilly.

Ron picked up his wet hat and fixed it on his head with a grimace. "Thanks Will, Avery." We nodded.

I walked off to Mad Science by myself.

I was sorely (haha) regretting my vigorous work-out this morning, my muscles ached whenever I moved or touched something. I was so in pain that I failed to realize the awkward tension at breakfast this morning. Layla didn't show up. Lucky her.

"Greene," Warren said, breaking my train of thoughts.

"What," I hissed through clenched teeth.

"You're making a freeze ray instead of a freeze beam," he said monotonously, gesturing to the half-assembled gun I was fiddling with in between my twitching fingers.

I set the beam down and sighed. "You can make it today, then."

When he took the beam from my hand, no, I did _not _swoon or faint like I saw other girls do before. What struck me was that I didn't feel _anything_ when his hand touched mine.

I widened my eyes and felt my forehead. It was as hot as a furnace.

Great. I had a fever. Being the same body temperature as Warren Peace surely wasn't normal.

"Peace, what's your average body temperature?" I asked tentatively.

"About 150 degrees Fahrenheit. Why?" he asked gruffly. This had to be the most we've ever said in each other's company.

I put my hand on his forearm and he shot me a weird look. his skin was smooth and i could feel the muscles rippling under his skin. He flinched away and put his arm under the table.

"Either you have an extremely bad fever, or you've suddenly become a pyrokinetic," he said, this time turning fully to face me. This was the first time I ever made full eye contact with him, aside from that time I was invisible. I wasn't wearing any glasses today, so I was surprised when he didn't flinch away from my eyes.

"Well, I feel fine."

"That's not right, if you're the same temperature as me you should be dead." Blunt as always.

"I'll manage."

He rolled his eyes and decided he couldn't care less so he turned back to the freeze ray.

After class, I'll admit I was pretty freaked out, so I headed to the nurse's office.

"Hello, dear. What seems to be the problem?" asked an elderly woman in a kind tone.

"Well…I… think I have a very high fever, but I feel perfectly fine." The nurse raised her eyebrows and proceeded to take my temperature. Her eyebrows raised even higher when she looked at the thermometer, if that was possible.

She went to her computer as I sat down on a white-linen bed.

"What is your name and power dear?"

"Avery Greene, invisibility and force fields," I said nervously as she typed in something rapidly. "Is there something I should know?"

She smiled brightly. "Yes, it might come as quite a shock. Usually the symptoms you showed me means that you acquired a new power. Your body temperature increased because you were absorbing energy to compensate for this power."

My mouth dropped open to a tiny "o". "Do you know what it is?"

"No, I'm afraid not. Try concentrating on the powers you know you already have, and then expand your mind," she said unhelpfully. What the hell? "Expand my mind"?

I tried anyways and focused so hard I thought my mind would burst. "It's not worki- Ow!" I yelled.

I felt my tailbone hit the cold marble floor and the nurse (her nametag read "Nurse Spex") tried to help me back up. "What happened?"

"It seems like you developed intangibility, dear! You phased right through the edge of the bed. You can phase through anything when in the intangible state. It's a good thing that the floors of Sky High are phase-proof and laser-proof or else you'd be falling though the sky by now," she chuckled.

I failed to see the humor in that so I just thanked her, gathered my things and left.

I rushed to the cafeteria to tell the group of my discovery, but I walked through the doors and found Will and Warren in an all-out brawl, throwing and flaming each other down.

Wait…Will had super strength! In no way could he have just threw Warren through Medulla's office without it! I shoved my way to the front of the eager crowd.

The less excited part of me winced as Warren climbed through the wall he just plowed through and shook off the debris. That's gotta hurt.

"Think I can't take a hit?" he yelled and diverted Will's attention from his "adoring" fans. His entire arms lit up with flames and he charged at Will, gaining speed as he came. I knew Will was going to have a hard time getting out of this one.

Without thinking, I turned invisible, threw myself between them, and pushed out with my force fields as hard as I could. The force knocked both of them a few feet away onto the ground. A hundred eyes were glued to my form as I slowly turned from transparent to translucent to opaque.

"Ahem," said an irritated voice from behind me. Warren, Will and I turned around to meet the annoyed gray eyes of Principal Powers.

"Miss Greene, Mr. Peace and Mr. Stronghold. Follow me, please.


	7. Chapter 7

Hey guys! Thanks to all who followed and favorite, I LURRVE YOUU 3

Kay I'm going to stop creeping you out. But yeah you may have noticed that I permanently changed from 3rd person to 1st. I think I might keep it this way and if I change it I will indicate it.

Special thanks to my first reviewer, Sam0728!

Disclaimer: If you saw it in the Sky High movie, it's not mine. I do not own the Beatles either.

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

Oh, shit. Oh crap. I've never had a day of detention in my life, not in regular school, not here. That's why I almost fainted when Principal Powers led Will, Warren, and I to a spacy white room labeled "Detention Room". I've gotten into trouble multiple times before (I blame it all on my powers) but I'd been able to talk my way out of it. I was just so angry at Warren for losing his head like that and worried for Will that I didn't think about it. Knowing Josie, I was not going to get out of this easily.

I opened my mouth to sweet talk Principal Powers who was standing adjacent to the doorway with her arm stretched out, when Will beat me to it. Except it was clear he didn't know how to get out of detention properly.

"I didn't do anything, though-he started it," he mumbled as he sauntered into the starch-white room. I need to teach that boy how to persuade sometime. I was pretty sure we were never going to get out of this now. Warren followed in as I trailed behind.

"Your dad started it, and I'm going to finish it," snarled Warren. He thrust his hand out and had a confused expression once he realized his powers weren't working.

"Don't bother. The detention room"- I cringed-"neutralizes all super powers," said Powers with a victorious smile. "Sit." She pointed to the three white-washed desks.

I plunked down into a chair grumpily and sniffed in disdain. Detention on my 5th day of school. Hooray.

"Here at sky high we do everything we can to teach you how to use your powers. But what you do with them, now that's up to you. Living up to your father's reputation or living them down is a sad waste of talent. Your talent. Try to keep that in mind the next time you try to do something stupid," lectured Principal Powers. I raised an eyebrow at the fact that she didn't acknowledge me, but decided to keep my big mouth shut.

The door slid open and closed behind her as she walked out.

"You guys are idiots," I remarked loudly as soon as the door slid shut. Before they could react I slipped on my headphones and turned the volume of my mp3 as loud as it could go.

_Oh please,_

_Say to me_

_You'll let me be your man_

_And please_

_Say to me_

_You'll let me hold your hand_

_Oh let me hold your hand_

_I wanna hold your hand_

To my left I saw Will sigh out of the corner of my eye and say something to Warren. To my horror, he then extended his hand to Warren in truce. Warren said something threatening and turned away. Will scrunched up his shoulders and hunched over his desk.

Touché.

The day was relatively boring after that. In a few hushed whispers Will relayed the parts of the fight which I missed. I whispered back to him about my new power, though I couldn't show it to him because we were in the detention room.

Speaking of powers, I was both happy and sad that Will acquired Steve's super strength. I was happy in the sense that Steve would be on relatively good terms with Will again. After Will told him about being a sidekick with no powers… let's just say I couldn't be in their presence without having a dose of awkwardness.

On the other hand, I worry that getting super strength will get to Will's head. And let's face it, Power's is definitely going to transfer him to Hero class. I'm counting on Layla to deflate his head if the time comes.

Nevertheless, I was extremely excited for him when we literally skipped home from the bus.

When we got to the front door, Will ripped the door off its hinges with a slight tug. I raised my eyebrows and walked in as he tried to set the door back in place. In front of me stood two very serious super heroes.

"So kids, anything interesting happen in school today?" said Josie, breaking the silence. I fidgeted and crossed my ankles uncomfortably.

"Well as you may have noticed, I got my powers today," replied Will with a cheeky smile. He picked up Josie who kept that stony expression on her face.

"We know, your principal called."

Will lowered Josie back to the ground. I think he finally realized how angry she was. My form started to flicker. Will glanced from Steve to Josie uneasily.

"It's not- it's not as bad as it sounds, it's actually a really funny, great story"- he started.

"You nearly destroyed the cafeteria!" she burst out.

"Yeah, but mom! I got my powers!" oh no. I could already see his head inflating.

"Just because you got your powers doesn't mean you're excused from punishment!" I exclaimed, disgusted with his demeanor. Will shot me his hurt puppy look.

"Right, Avery," affirmed Josie. She turned to Will. "And do you know how to use your powers wisely?"

Will turned to Steve.

"Sanctum. Now," he said, trying to be intimidating. It really wasn't working and both Josie and I could see he was on Will's side of the argument.

Josie and I looked on as Steve followed Will into the Sanctum.

"Principal Powers told me you were just trying to break up the fight. She gave you detention only because you used your powers," said Josie, distracting me from my trance.

I nodded silently.

"Thanks Josie," God, how many times has it been that I was at the mercy of the Strongholds?

Josie took this as her dismissal and turned away to the kitchen.

"Would you mind if I got a job?" I blurted out suddenly. "I'd like to pay off the money you used to buy me those gifts."

Josie stopped in mid step and pivoted around to face me. Her eyebrows were raised and her mouth made a small "o".

"Of course not, honey," she said with a smile. "You're already fourteen, aren't you? My little girl's growing up."

I rolled my eyes and grinned. "I've only been with you a month."

* * *

Violin case clutched in one hand (for luck) and a determined expression on my face, I walked out of the 3rd job offer that evening. Rejected. It was pitch black out, and I could only get home by walking, so I decided to call it a day on job hunting.

Just for safety's sake I turned invisible as I started walking. As I was walking, I help up my violin and phased my hand through it for practice. I was so focused that I didn't even flinch when I accidently phased through a tall guy with long, dark hair.

He must have felt me going through him because he stopped walking abruptly and whipped his head around. "Who's there," he called out in a baritone voice.

As he turned into the light of a lamppost I caught the sight of familiar red streaks and leather gloves. I widened my eyes and turned visible.

"S-sorry Warren I didn't realize you were there," I muttered. He straightened up and brushed some invisible lint of his leather jacket.

"Greene. Did you just walk through me?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah. Remember how this morning I was the same temperature as you? Turns out I acquired a new power. Intangibility," I said offhandedly.

He grunted. "What're you doing out alone so late? Do you know how many creeps hang around this neighborhood around this time?"

"I could ask you the same thing," I answered coolly. "I'm job hunting."

"You have a death wish," stated Warren bluntly. "I'm going to walk you home." A statement, not a question. I started sputtering excuses but he just raised a gloved hand and glared. I sighed in defeat. I headed in the direction to the Stronghold residence with Warren at my side.

"What's that?" asked Warren in monotone, gesturing to my violin.

"My violin." He raises an eyebrow.

We remained in silence until I came to a stop in front of the Stronghold residence. I flinched as I realized Will was on the roof and just caught sight of me and Warren. I saw him visibly stiffen and climb back in through his window.

I turn to my right and saw Warren with his brows furrowed together. I started my habit of flickering again. He glanced at me, then at the house. I could see in his eyes the puzzle pieces coming together.

"You're"-

I grabbed his sleeve. "Please don't tell anyone at school," I pleaded.

He stared at me with an expression I couldn't comprehend. I stopped flickering and let go of his jacket.

"Why do you need a job… if you live with Stronghold?" Of all the things to ask.

"I owe Steve and Josie a lot. I don't like owing people anything."

He fell into silence again for a few seconds.

"Tomorrow. 7 o'clock. The Paper Lantern. Be there," he commanded. With that, he turned on his heel and left me with my mouth open and gaping.

I slowly headed up the stone passageway with a billion thoughts in my head. Did I just land myself a date? No, ridiculous. Warren Peace does not date. A job offer?

My thoughts quickly fizzled out when I reached the door, which was already open with a fuming Steve occupying the doorframe and a cowering Will behind him. I shot him a cold death glare. Seriously? He _told_ on me?

I stepped up to him as if nothing was wrong. He stood perpendicular to the doorframe and motioned for me to get in. I stepped in and set my violin down. I faced the whole Stronghold family (Josie joined them) and saw Josie arguing with Steve in hushed whispers and Will looking anywhere but my red eyes. I coughed, directing their attention to me.

Steve took off his glasses and looked me in the eye. "Avery, is it true you just walked home with Baron Battles son?" I nodded defiantly and crossed my arms. I knew where this was going.

"He just saw me walking home in the dark and decided to be nice," I said defensively. Actually, I didn't know the true meaning of why he walked with me but I just guessed.

"I don't want you seeing him ever again," commanded Steve firmly. My jaw dropped open.

"I can't believe you're stereotyping him like this! You don't even know him!" I exclaim. I turn to Josie for support. She turns to Steve and opens her mouth but is cut off by him.

"And you do?"

"No! I mean, well, I just don't think you should judge him before you know him," I state. Steve puffs out a breath at my attempt to avoid the question. But he's right. Why was I defending Warren if I didn't know him?

"He's just a chip off the old block. His father is the one who killed Julia and La"- Josie cut him off with a hand on his shoulder.

I breathed in and out heavily.

_Calm down. Count to ten. He didn't mean it, he just forgot. Count to ten._

Before I could do any serious damage, I stormed upstairs and slammed my door.


	8. Chapter 8

Hey guys, just wanted to say thanks to **Artemis Persephone Jackson** for being the second reviewer! I love you all :P

Disclaimer: If you saw it in Sky High, I do not own it.

Let me know what you think!

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

I woke up as usual and did my usual workout routine. I showered and then dressed into a navy cardigan, a gray tank top, denim shorts, and as usual, some black combat boots. It was getting chillier and more like fall every day, so I put on some knit leg warmers underneath the boots. I put on the sunglasses again.

I checked the clock and realized I had more time than usual for breakfast. Good. This way I wouldn't encounter any of the Strongholds for breakfast.

Scarfing down a blueberry muffin, I headed out of the house to Layla's next door. I climbed up the massive tree leading to her window and sat at the top for a moment, enjoying the view and slight breeze. The wind carried scents of leaves, a telltale sign of my favorite season, autumn.

The window to my right slammed open. "Hiya Ave!" Layla nearly shouts. I flinch and almost drop out of the tree.

"God, Layla. Careful. And morning to you too," I yawn tiredly. "Brought you a muffin." I hand a plain corn muffin to her, which she happily accepts and gobbles down.

"I take it you're avoiding Will after last night," she says while climbing onto the tree branch next to me. She wore a striped tee-shirt with a long sleeved shirt underneath and jeans. Of course Will would tell her. It would be silly of me to think he wouldn't.

"Yeah," I sigh. "You're not on his side, are you?

"No, you're right. Stereotyping is common among this generation though," she says defensively It was so obvious she liked him. She was defending him now.

I checked the time and realized we had to go. I slithered down the tree and motioned at my phone to Layla, who followed suit and climbed down the tree.

I walked on the sidewalk, thumbs hooked in my jean pockets.

"Is it true you went on a date with Warren Peace?" asks Layla innocently.

I choke on air and start coughing violently. My lungs heave and wheeze and the coughing slows. I feel my heartbeat growing steadier, and suddenly remember what Layla asked.

"No." The mere thought of it being true makes me laugh hysterically, which I start to do now. Layla puts on a sheepish expression and laughs with me. We stop at the bus stop and see Will already there. I distance myself from him as he and Layla begin talking.

We get on the bus (Ron greets Will jovially with a tip of his hat and an awed expression. He must have heard about the fight.) and I sit down next to Magenta. I don't really talk to anyone in the group but Layla and Will (considering if I'm in the "group" at all).

We share some sarcastic jokes and idly chat till the bus comes to a halt. I rushed out before I could encounter Will and sprinted (invisible) to Mad Science. I turned visible as I set my bag down and sat next to the already reading Warren. I opened my mouth to ask Warren what the heck last night was about but decided against it and pretended to yawn.

"Students of the Sophomore Hero Class, since the Board of Education tells me that over 50% of you is failing," accused Medulla while looking pointedly to a kid in a Burberry hat and oversized glasses, "I've decided to put a teaching assistant in the midst of you so you can 'learn'." He used finger quotations on the word "learn".

Then, in walked in none other than Gwen Grayson, aka Pink girl. "Hey guys, I'm Gwen Grayson, your new teaching assistant," she chirped and gave a winning smile. I swear, I saw the whole male population (minus Warren, he wouldn't give a damn if Tina Fey walked in) drool. She sat down at the only empty table.

Medulla turned around and fumbled with a few papers. Then, he flipped around dramatically and leaned against his desk.

"Rays! From the silliness of the shrink ray to the devastation of the death ray. These are the very foundations of Mad Science," he lectured. Someone knocked on the open door. I snapped my head up to see Will in all his red, white, and blue glory. His eyes met mine briefly and traveled to my right. I felt an uncomfortable heat emanating from my right.

I nudged Warren and he immediately cooled down while glowering at me. I kept my eyes glued forward as Mr. Medulla told him to take a seat beside Gwen. Why was he even in sophomore class? I bet it was because he's the almighty _Commander's_ son and "deserves" special treatment. I don't really blame him though, he never liked the attention.

Will looked at Gwen and painstakingly reminded me of a drooling Basset Hound. She widened her doe eyes and smiled flirtatiously. I snapped my wooden pencil in my left hand.

If I were a pyrokinetic, I would be flaming right now.

* * *

So after watching Will hang all over Gwen for the whole period, I waited at Layla's locker before lunch since the Sidekicks are let out later. Weird, Layla's locker smells like a wild field of… something. I couldn't really tell.

While I was in the middle of listening to my mp3, I felt a slender finger trail quickly from my shoulder to my thigh.

I turned around to find none other than Lash and Speed.

"Yes?" I ask coldly.

"Nothing, just enjoying the view," snickered Speed. He then proceeded to sprint by me, using the wind to knock me down. My reflexes must have been relatively slow that day, because the next thing I knew my cheek met the cold ground. I really didn't want to get into detention again, so I decided to just pick up all my stuff and make a run for it.

"Run, Sidekick, run!" yelled Lash, taunting me. I didn't bother to correct him.

I arrived at the cafeteria doors, panting.

A certain green someone was suddenly at my side. "Avery! You alright?" worried Layla.

"Fine," I grunted. "I was just waiting for you." I straightened up from my hunched over posture. "Hey Magenta, Zach, and Ethan." We exchanged greetings and walked into the cafeteria.

Standing in the lunch line, I chose a Sidekick Sub over a Hero Hoagie, just to mix things up a bit. The cashier looked kind of surprised when she scanned my ID and looked at my lunch. I just rolled my eyes. Seriously, all the diversity was getting to me.

Looks like my predictions were coming out correct. Will was sitting at Gwen Grayson's table along with Penny and some other senior Heroes.

"Guys, guys! Over here," called Will. At least he invited us to sit with him.

"Will? Sitting with Gwen Grayson?" asked Magenta rhetorically. I could tell she was disgusted.

"Yeah, he was hanging all over her in Mad Science. I nearly hurled," I whispered to her, not loud enough for Layla to hear.

"Man aims high, gotta give him that," remarked Zach cheerfully as we made our way over to the table.

Suddenly duplicated of Penny shot out and occupied the empty seats. "Sorry, all full," she taunted. Will started fidgeting uncomfortably, and I glared at him to make the right choice. He just shrugged apologetically at Layla, whose back was stiff and straight.

"That's okay," she said in a falsetto voice. It was most definitely not okay. She gestured to an empty table with her head. "Uh, guys I think I see an empty table over there." She looked back at us and smiled, which I could have never done. I was completely livid. I pressed my lips into a thin line as the guys all walked away. I didn't move and was still rooted to the spot.

"Hey, Avery. You can sit with us if you'd like," said Gwen brightly, as if that would make everything okay.

"I thought there weren't any seats left," I said behind clenched teeth. I stalked away and made sure to brush by Will with my bag.

I plopped down next to Layla and munched on my Sidekick Sub. I felt four pairs of eyes on me so I looked up. Magenta, Zach, Ethan and Layla were all staring.

"What?" I asked defiantly.

"Nothing."

* * *

As I walked to my locker before gym, I caught a familiar sight of stripes. I turned the corner and saw Lash holding Ethan and Zach glowing in a locker. He was just about to stuff Ethan into Speeds locker when I turned intangible and walked right through him.

"EW!" he squealed and dropped Ethan. I rolled my eyes. He's such a girl. He turned around to see a translucent me glancing up at him. Speed tried to knock me off my feet by rushing by me.

"Ethan!" I called to my right. "Go get help!" He ran around the corner calling for Will. Lash went away looking for Ethan while Speed ran at me. I turned solid, stepped to the side, and stuck out my leg. Sure enough, Speed's foot caught right on my shin and tumbled across me. The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

He quickly got up and dusted off his jeans. "I've just about had enough of you Si"- he started.

I saw Lash haul Ethan back to Speed's locker and try to stuff him into Speeds locker when Will and Layla came around.

"Whoa whoa whoa, easy guys," said Will as he pulled Ethan away. Ethan thanked him and walked next to me.

"Thanks Avery," he said. I nodded without breaking my gaze from Las and Speed. They stood in front of Lash's locker, trying to hide the conspicuous glow of Zach's powers.

"Zach too," I fumed.

They sighed and yanked Zach out of the locker.

"Not so tough when my boy's around, are you?" Zach, you really need to know when to keep your mouth shut..

"You just think you're just so big and bad, huh Stronghold?" Lash sneered.

"No, I"-

"Please, Will will totally take you!" countered Ethan courageously. Layla and I shared anxious looks. Where was this going?

"Yeah, you saw what happened to Warren, you want a piece of that?" continued Zach.

"Watch it Stronghold, and that big mouth is gonna get you into a lot of trouble," jeered Speed while pointing at Will menacingly. He didn't really say anything…

"I didn't say anything"- said Will frantically.

"Why don't we settle this in P.E.?"

"Why?"

"You're on! If Will can beat you in Save the Citizen, you lay off the Sidekicks for the rest of the year." Ethan! Don't you know better?!

"Yeah and if he loses you can dunk Ethan's head in the toilet everyday till graduation." Shit, Zach!

"Yeah!" said Ethan, until he thought about it. He turned to Zach. "Huh?!"

"You've got yourself a deal," confirmed Lash as I facepalmed.

"Guys! Are you crazy?! No freshman ever won Save the Citizen and those guys are undefeated!" cried Will.

"And you barely know how to use your powers! Sorry, not helping…" Layla said.

"Well you have no choice. You can't let them dunk Ethan's head in the toilet. The dunking must end," reasoned Zach.

"It was your idea, smartass!"

* * *

I watched as the male dummy got annihilated by the metal shredder. I was getting more nervous by the second as Lash and Speed had yet another victory.

"Ramirez, Hamilton. Your citizen has just been mulched because you failed to defeat your villains," called Coach Boomer from his high chair. Lash and Speed fist bumped. "Alright next round. Speed Lash, you wanna be heroes or villains?"

"Villains!" came the answer.

"Ooh, there's a surprise," muttered Boomer sarcastically. "Alright, who do you wanna beat next?" I felt Layla fidget next to me and I patted her shoulder reassuringly.

"We'll take little Stronghold"- Will got up in front of me and stretched.

"And we pick Greene!" Shit, shit shit! The scoreboard buzzed as it changed to say 'Stronghold' and 'Greene'.

I made my way down the bleachers and felt a hundred pairs of eyes on me. I stepped up next to Will, who was still stretching.

"What's the plan, Captain America?" I joked. He scowled at the nickname but I could tell he was relieved we were on joking terms again. I slapped on a set of armor on top on my white tank and blue shorts.

"Well"-

"Ghostie, Stronghold, you're the heroes," announced Boomer.

In the stands to my right, I saw Gwen wave at Will seductively. Barf. He looked dazed and waved back till I slapped him and pointed to Boomer.

"You have three minutes to immobilize your opponents and Save the Citizen. Ready, Set, Battle!" yelled Boomer.

Will and I kind of just stood there as Lash stretched his arm out to the "lamppost" to make a sling for Speed. Speed leaned against it and took off, hitting the walls like a pinball. He knocked Will of his feet but ran straight through me, as I was intangible.

Lash tried to grab me while Speed messed around with Will. I phased through his arms and ran at him, turning solid at the last second and slugging him across the face. The crowd "ooh"ed in sympathy for Lash, you could almost hear his face bones crunching. He dropped to the ground and stayed there, unconscious.

I turned around and surrounded myself with a force field and walked to the center of the gym, where the citizen was slowly descending to its doom.

Something suddenly crashed into the force field, causing me to lose focus and make it disappear. I saw Speed grin in front of me and start to circle me rapidly.

What the hell? What was the point of that? I was about to start laughing when I realized my lungs didn't work.

Soon my breathing became heavy and laboured and I dropped to one knee, clutching my throat in desperation for air.

My eyesight was blurry and an aching pain that felt like daggers was coming from my chest.

All I saw was Speed circling me before the darkness fell over me.


	9. Chapter 9

Hey readers, please review, favorite, follow, or just read! I love you all anyways J

Disclaimer: I do not own Sky High.

**CHAPTER NINE**

I felt my soul zip back into my body and wondered where I was. Did I fall asleep in Central Park again? Or maybe the New York Public Library?

Oh, right. I live in Maxville and go to a high school for super teens.

But that didn't answer what had happened. I opened my eyes and blinked away the fuzziness in my vision to see Nurse Spex hovering worriedly over me. The room smelled like lollipops and medicine.

"Oh, good. You're awake. I was beginning to worry a bit," she sighed. "You kids can come in now!" she called to the door.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes drearily. Layla, Zach, Magenta, Ethan, and Will rushed in. They began pestering me with questions and comments until I raised my hand to stop them.

I mumbled something incomprehensible.

"What?" asked Layla confusedly.

"Wahappand?" I asked a little louder.

"Speak up, sweetie," said Nurse Spex.

"What happened?!" I yelled. "Oops." I covered my mouth. My friends laughed and proceeded recap the Save the Citizen match.

"So after you passed out because Speed cut off your oxygen with a vortex vacuum, the Save the Citizen match ended in a tie. Speed called for a rematch"- began Will.

"Yo, man! You totally gave Lash a humongous shiner!" Zach interrupted. A grin split my face.

"Anyways," said Ethan. "Coach Boomer picked Warren Peace (What?!) to be your replacement and Will and Warren totally killed Lash and Speed! I don't have to get dunked in the toilet!" I gave Ethan an encouraging smile.

"Good job, kid," I chuckled and punched Will lightly in the shoulder. He rubbed his arm and gave me a sheepish smile. "Anybody got any Tylenol? My head is killing me."

* * *

I hadn't forgotten what Warren told me to do last night. Should I go? The question was a given. I couldn't refuse. I had to go.

While thinking this, I walked into the kitchen to find Will, Steve, Josie, and _Gwen Grayson_ chumming it up. What the hell?!

"Oh, hi Avery. You know Gwen, right?" greeted Josie. Gwen's head snapped up and her eyes found mine. I put on a mask of nonchalance and nodded.

"Avery! You live with Will?" she questioned as a flash of something passed her eyes before it settled on cheerfulness.

I fake smiled and said yes, in fact I was his sister. Confusion appeared in her expression before it settled on something darker and calculating.

"Avery, Gwen's staying with us for dinner. Do you think you can make it?" asked Steve, breaking my gaze from Gwen's face.

"Sorry Steve," I apologized. "But I have an appointment."

With that, I grabbed my violin (you never know when you need music) and headed out the door for the Paper Lantern.

I followed the directions Layla gave me ("You're on a date?" "No I"- "Well, good luck! Here're the directions!" *sigh*) and ended up at a humble little building with Chinese decorations plastering the outside. It looked warm and cozy and golden light was filtering through the open windows. The wind carried the smell of Chinese food.

I walked through the door and a bell chimed, letting the staff know I was here. I waited a few seconds while getting a quick look around.

"Greene," came a voice from behind me. I turned around and saw Warren looking down at me. Damn. He had his hair tied back and his arms exposed, and let me just say, his arms were tan muscular, and hot. Not hot meaning the flame tattoos licking the inside of his wrists, the other kind of hot.

"You work here." A statement, not a question.

"Yeah. Did you bring your violin?" I held it up. He made a motion for me to follow him, so I did and he led me to an office in the back, next to the kitchen. A middle aged Chinese woman was standing there, looking irritated. She yelled at Warren in Chinese, in which he grumbled something back and left.

"You play violin?"

I nodded.

"Warren tell me that you are in search of a job. Paper Lantern is in need of entertainment for customers, so I want to hire you. You can play oriental music?"

I nodded again. Why did Warren tell her about me? It's not like we're friends. Heck, I don't think I even know what his favorite color is! Why would he want to help me?

"Play."

I took out my violin and obliged. As my bow moved the notes blended in with the idle chatter of the customers, the smell of the food, and the warmth and decorations of the restaurant. I didn't even notice five minutes had passed until the restaurant keeper put a hand on my moving arm.

"Hired. Five o'clock to eight thirty, every day except Sunday okay with you?"

"That's fine. Should I eat here every day? Can I go home to eat with the family sometimes?"

"Fine, as long as you come back. Pay is seven dollars an hour. Your name?" she questioned, pulling out a clipboard.

"Avery. Greene." I was still shocked this was happening.

"You start tomorrow. Today you eat here, free of charge. I'm Ms. Wu," she smiled for the first time since I got here and stuck out a wrinkly hand, worn from hard work. I shook it and smiled at her warmth.

"Now, shoo! I have work to do," she insisted. I went and sat down at the nearest empty booth and ordered some stir fry noodles from a waitress.

I dug into my bag and stuffed my headphones onto my ears. Music poured into my ears through the speakers and I almost didn't notice the waitress drop off my food. I scarfed down the Chinese goodness, stuffed the headphones in my bag, and headed for the door.

On my way out, something green caught the corner of my eye. I skidded to a halt and backed up.

In the corner of a desolate booth sat Layla, looking depressed and deserted with a plate of cold vegetables in front of her.

"Hey, Layla! What're you doing here? Are you stalking me because you think I'm on a date?" I mused, hoping to get that expression off her face. Normally I never joke. If there's one thing that doesn't suit Layla, it's melancholy.

She turned to me, green eyes drooping. "As much as I wish that were the case, I'm not. I was supposed to be meeting Will here at eight. Do you know where he is?"

What was Will doing that could make him forget about Layla? I tried to remember what he was doing when I got home… wait… wasn't he with… Gwen?

The bastard got blindsided by her stunning looks and personality that he forgot to meet up with Layla and the Paper Lantern.

Seriously, I sometimes want to disown that kid.

"Uh… no. No idea." I was so in for it. "He was just doing homework when we got home and I had to come here right away because I was at the nurse's office till 5, remember?"

"Oh… Thanks anyway. I'm sure he's just late." It was 8:30.

Guilt pierced me. I didn't want to tell Layla about Gwen, it would break her heart. Then again, I couldn't just leave while I led her on to believe that Will would still come.

"Um, hey! I guess I could spare a minute or two to wait with you," I said and sat down next to Layla with my violin and bag at one side.

"So, you never told me what you were doing here," Layla said in false happiness.

"Oh, I got a job here. No, I'm not waiting tables, I'm not exactly a people person," I said and laughed at her expression. "I'll be doing entertainment." I gestured to my violin case.

"That's cool." She murmured and slouched back into her dreary self. The jasmine flower in front of us shriveled up.

I looked around awkwardly, hoping Will finally got his mind straight and remembered about his appointment with Layla. Instead, I spotted Warren, who was cleaning his way through the empty tables, muscles rippling.

He'd probably wonder what I'd still be doing here, so I turned invisible just as he lifted his head toward our table.

"Still working on that?" he inquired gruffly as he walked over.

Next to me, Layla turned her gaze to Warren and gaped.

"Hey," she greeted.

"Hey."

"We go to school together."

Pause. "You're Stronghold's friend." I rolled my eyes and almost smacked him. You can't judge people by their friends, or in your case, their fathers!

"Yeah…" she didn't sound too happy about it. To be honest, I wasn't too happy to be associated with him either. Warren must have caught on, because he bit his lip and looked around awkwardly.

"You want me to heat that up for you?" Back to busboy mode.

Laylas eyes widened and she leaned forward. "You're not supposed to use your powers outside school," she whispered. I rolled my eyes again. Always a stickler to the rules.

"I was just gonna stick it in the microwave." Did I just detect a hint of a joke in there?

Layla breathed out and chuckled. I felt extremely tense sitting there, like I was intruding or something. From previous experiences though, I knew to keep silent.

"Uh, I was… supposed to be meeting will here, but no," she said quickly. "You wanna sit down?" she pressed her fist against my side and flashed a smirk as Warren looked around the almost empty restaurant.

"I think I can spare a minute." He set down his water jug and sat down across from Layla and I.

He lit the tip of his finger on fire and used it to light up the cinnamon candle in the middle of the table. He stared at it with a calm expression, almost as if it relaxed him. It probably did.

"Hey, you're friends with Greene, right?" I stiffened up while Layla smiled. "Did you see her here while you were eating?"

I turned visible. "Busted," I confessed guiltily.

Warren flinched while Layla laughed her head off. It was good to see her amused, at least temporarily, so I risked my life by scaring Warren.

"What happened to 'you're not supposed to use your powers outside school'?" I joked.

He just sighed and turned away from me. "So, what happened to get you into this mess?" he asked Layla.

That seemed to spur her on to tell us her life story while we patiently listened. Well, Warren patiently listened. I fidgeted and coughed. Like I said, I am not a people person.

"So then there was this time in first grade. You know how you grow lima beans in school?" she jabbered. "Well, Will could not figure out why mine were growing so quickly, it was driving him crazy." Warren sighed and bit his lip. Finally! I was beginning to think his patience was unlimited. "So finally I took mercy on him and I told him about my powers. We've been best friends ever since," finished Layla with a shrug. Oh, come on. You totally want to be more than just best friends.

Then Warren said something totally unexpected. "And falling for him, did that happen before or after the lima beans?" Wow, Warren Peace the shrink.

"W-what?! I am _not_ in love with Will Strong"- Warren and I raised our eyebrows. "Is it that obvious?" she asked, defeated.

"Extremely obvious," I said, playing with the handle of my violin case.

"Yeah," agreed Warren.

"Great."

"So why don't you just tell him?" Warren the shrink strikes again.

"Well, I was gonna ask him to Homecoming, but… there's two problems. He likes somebody else… and she's _perfect_,"sighed Layla.

"Gwen Grayson is _not _perfect. She's got nothing on you," I snorted. She shot me a grateful glance, but it still was doubtful.

"Hm… you know what I think? To let true love remain unspoken is the quickest route to a heavy heart."

I raised a brow as Layla inhaled. "Wow. That's really deep."

"Yeah. And, your lucky numbers are four, sixteen, five, and twenty nine." I smirked and Laya chuckled.

Ms. Wu yelled something in Chinese to Warren. I'm guessing it went something like a '_Start working and stop socializing or I'll kick your ass into next year!' _sorta thing. Warren yelled something back.

"I gotta go." He slid the paper across the table. "See ya around." I blew out the candle as Layla waved goodbye.

"I guess I gotta go too. Hope the moral support from Warren the shrink helped," I said and gathered my things.

"You know what, I think I will tell Will about how I feel. Thanks Avery, see you tomorrow!" she chirped, back to normal. I smiled and headed out the door, the wind chime ringing in my trail.

I saw Warren's back a half a block away.

"Hey! Matchbox!" I yelled. He turned around and raised an eyebrow at my nickname, but kept silent. He stood immobile as I ran to catch up.

"Why did you get me that job?" I panted, trying to match his long strides beside him.

Silence. He hooked him thumbs in the pockets of his leather jacket.

"It isn't because you pity me or something? 'Cause if that's the case, I swear I'll"-

"I try… really hard… to right the wrongs of my father," he murmured, almost talking to himself in a way. He faced me. "Now we're equal. I know one of your secrets, you know one of mine. 'I don't like owing people anything'." I just realized he just quoted what I said the other night and the corner of my mouth quirked up.

"You know, you're not as scary as you make yourself out to be," I remarked. His eyebrows scrunched together.

"Really?" he said with a hint of menace and lit his hand on fire and held it out in front of me.

"Really," I said, unfazed, and turned my hand intangible and put it through his. His cheeks turned red when he realized that I was holding his hand, indirectly at least. He put out the fire and drew his hand back quickly into his pocket. I turned solid and smirked.

It seemed like there was more to Warren Peace that met the eye. I didn't think of his bad boy image when he walked me home when he barely knew me, or talked to Layla even though she was Will's best friend. Or when he just talked to me about his father, whom he started a fight with Will over because he mentioned him.

"Are you walking me home," I asked. I didn't see him on the bus, so he couldn't live in my neighborhood and here he was walking alongside me.

"Yeah."

"Why? I thought you were resident bad-boy: Warren Peace," I said and looked down.

He suddenly stopped. I looked at him. His face was twisted in disgust as he looked far out in front of us.

I followed his gaze and found Will kissing Gwen Grayson on the doorstep of a house, most likely hers.

"That BIT"- I began, but Warren clamped a gloved hand over my mouth and muffled the sound. Luckily, we were under the only light on the block that didn't work, so when Will and Gwen stopped kissing and looked in our direction, they only saw darkness. Also, I turned myself and Warren invisible.

They recovered, said goodbye, and separated. Warren and I let out a sigh of relief and turned visible. My face turned red and I shoved his hand away, flustered. My mouth was still warm from the encounter when I touched my red lips.

"Sorry," he apologized gruffly.

" 'S alright."

"Guess I should leave now, my mom's probably getting worried."

"Thanks, Warren."

He turned around and sauntered away in the opposite direction. Will jumped up, grabbed the top of the nearest lamppost, swung around it and broke it in the process. He set it up, but it just came crashing down again. In his bliss, Will didn't bother to fix it again, leaving me to try and clean up his mess.

Stupid hormonal teenage boys.


End file.
